Customer service.

London Lad

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Feb 24, 2006
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I don't know if its just me but is 'customer service' from custom builders getting worse?

Over the last few weeks I've emailed or messaged four custom builders here with questions about their products availability or the availability of spare parts for products I already have.

Not one of them has even bothered to respond!!

Now I know these guys are often one man bands or very small firms but you would think they would find time to email a potential customer who wants to spend $$$ ?
 

markr6

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Jul 16, 2012
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I never really dealt with custom builders, but I guess with one-man or small shops you need to consider things like a bunch of orders all coming in at once, e-mail problems, death in the family or other major personal business, vacation, etc.
 

calipsoii

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Apr 21, 2010
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It's summer. I would imagine most people are either on holidays or working hard to cover for the rest of the office that is. Most of the builders around here do this as a labor of love and not as a full-time job, so they're juggling their day job, their home life and CPF.
 

London Lad

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I think the people I'm talking about manufacture flash-lights for a living rather than as a side line but I hear what you say.

I just don't remember builders, especially ones in the USA, being solaissez-faire about making sales. Maybe I'm just getting old!

At least McGizmo is still super fast with his responses, which is amazing really since he is underwater most of the time :)
 

shado

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I would agree 100% and were not alone!!!! Other collectors have made similar comments to me in recent months. I've stopped buying from some custom makers based on customer service. This has lead me to focus on my custom knife collection.
 

Norm

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Jun 13, 2006
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I just hope this isn't one youv'e tried to contact List of Lummi orders still unfulfilled .

I've found Steve Ku and Gene & Cathy Malkoff exceptionally helpful, I think others would add Don / McGizmo to that list but I don't have direct experience.

Norm
 
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nbp

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Seems to depend on who you are trying to contact. Don is blazing fast to respond and ship stuff every time. I have also had excellent service from Jason (Prometheus). Nailbender is super helpful and quick to ship. Enrique has always seemed to respond to my emails, but others find him hit or miss. Mac seems to be nearly impossible to get a response from. Fred Pilon is sketchy with emails and seems to work on a project or not work on it when he wants to. DatiLED is very busy and may or may not respond promptly, Mirage Man you do ok with phone but PM is dodgy...

I don't know.... I guess things could always be better, but I try to be forgiving since as noted before, many do this stuff on the side and have jobs and families and such. :shrug:
 

Cerealand

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Oct 30, 2011
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I have to agree with you. Customer service for certain builders have gone downhill. It may because of the amount of orders that have piled up. Pick one: work to complete pending lights or answer emails. One of my buddies was ready to order a custom light. Before he did, I told him to email the builder to see how long it will be before a response. It has been a few days already and so far no reply. I told my buddy, the product is great; everybody's happy when they receive their flashlight. I advised him to only place his order if he can (1) handle the unknown wait time (2) handle the lack of communication. My buddy is still waiting for a reply email. He's now unsure of whether to order or not.
 

creyc

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Like Norm said, there are certainly some exceptionally great guys still, but I too have noticed a decline. It's been almost a month waiting for a reply on a certain EDC-able triple emitter light... :/
 

London Lad

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Well I don't want to name names and you guys have about covered it anyway :) but I'm glad its not just me.

It's not as if I'm out money or chasing an order its just that you don't feel inclined to order if you can't even get a reply to an email in 4 weeks.

I'll just have to buy more from McGizmo !!
 

scout24

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Dec 23, 2008
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Penn's Woods
I'll admit, I cringed when I opened this thread, and have checked back in several times before posting. I'm somewhat surprised, and happy, that it's stayed open and been allowed to continue. The tone has stayed pleasant enough, which is definitely for the best. Some, as mentioned, are and have been fantastic with timely delivery and communication which is commendable. There are those whose building and modding genius are leaps and bounds above their communication and scheduling abilities, and I really think a couple who think their reputation allows for this, like it or buy somewhere else. By and large, however, in almost five years of buying and enjoying custom lights, I've enjoyed the fruits of what has only been an occasionally frustrating process. Discussing my frustration with another member not too long ago, he had a friend who has been waiting for several years for custom pool cues. If builders and modders here were all up front with their approximate wait times, I feel it would go a long ways toward not having threads like this in the first place. Be up front with me. Tell me it'll take at least 8 months up front. I won't bug you with PM's and emails or calls. We'll both be better off. If it shows up early, I'll be happy. :)
 

nbp

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If builders and modders here were all up front with their approximate wait times, I feel it would go a long ways toward not having threads like this in the first place. Be up front with me. Tell me it'll take at least 8 months up front. I won't bug you with PM's and emails or calls. We'll both be better off. If it shows up early, I'll be happy. :)

You hit it right there Greg. For most people it's not the wait, its the lack of forthrightness about the situation that causes problems.
 

billygoat

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Jul 17, 2013
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SoCal
One of the most valuable services that CPF provides is tales of service/response history of manufacturers. I always check opinions and comments of members before ordering a new light. Although I only have a small collection (McGizmo, Malkoff, Surefire), I will gladly pay more for the quick response by these folks when I have questions or need help; they don't let me down. I typically have a solution from Gene Malkoff within the hour; Don at McGizmo responds the same day. Never had a need to contact SF.
 

Cerealand

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Following up on post #8. 3 weeks and no reply so he's no longer making a purchase with the custom flashlight maker.
 

creyc

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Tampa, Florida
I'm a little concerned about a light I purchased from a custom builder over 5 weeks ago and still not heard a reply back. PayPal gives the buyer 45 days to file a claim and I'm coming up on that deadline. I don't want to take this course of action but I also don't want to surrender my protection as a buyer. I think 5 weeks of sitting on my money without so much as a reply back to an email is just a bit of a red flag..
 

yoyoman

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Nov 15, 2012
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Seems like a good opportunity to say that I've had excellent experiences with Oveready. I've never had a problem with a light from them. But I did have problems with PayPal - I wanted to use my US account to avoid bank robbery (bad exchange rates and fees). Team Oveready was super helpful, went the extra mile to use a PayPal invoice and the order was shipped without delay. Now I can use my US account and they will use my Swiss address for shipping. I was visiting the States this summer to visit friends and family and asked them to ship to my US address. No problem or mix up. The attention to detail in customer service, in addition to speed, was great.

I've had good experiences with other custom builders, including McGizmo and Photon Fanatic. Malkoff Devices isalso great - except for shipping to Switzerland - shipping is too expensive because they want a signature and the customs form is accurate so I have to pay Swiss Post to open the box and calculate the taxes. That's in addition to the taxes. But that is not Malkoff's fault. I bought a bunch of stuff from them before going to the States and everything was waiting for me.

The only "not happy" experiences I've had are with builders who greatly understate delivery time. It isn't fun when you order a light expecting an 8 - 10 week delivery and are still scratching your head months later. As stated above, it would be better for everyone if the delivery estimates were realistic. I would still have ordered the lights in question if they told me 6 months. As it is, I will think twice before ordering from them again.
 

nickso

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Aug 2, 2012
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Dallas Tx area
I'm a little concerned about a light I purchased from a custom builder over 5 weeks ago and still not heard a reply back. PayPal gives the buyer 45 days to file a claim and I'm coming up on that deadline. I don't want to take this course of action but I also don't want to surrender my protection as a buyer. I think 5 weeks of sitting on my money without so much as a reply back to an email is just a bit of a red flag..

I'd say you are justified to be concerned.

I agree that these custom makers have a life, but when they open up shop and take orders they also take a responsibility to communicate.
if they are taking time off for some reason, communicate with the orders you have and post a message and setup an auto-reply to respond.

I also collect other items and involved in other forums and we have the same discussions.

The custom makers usually come around, but sometimes leave a bad tast.
 
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